Introduction The genetic component, including
genes and their variants,
plays a significant
role in the pathophysiology of arterial
hypertension (AH). Thus, clinical, epidemiological and genetic studies have been carried out to improve the
understanding of
disease mechanisms, improve diagnostic quality and contribute to prevention. Objective To determine the
association of
risk factors, biochemical
parameters and different ACE
gene polymorphisms with AH.
Method The
case-control study was carried out in the
population of Ouro Preto,
Brazil. The subjects answered a
questionnaire containing clinical and sociodemographic data. The ACE
gene polymorphisms rs4291, rs4363 and rs4335 were evaluated by real
time-
polymerase chain reaction (
real-time PCR) in 310 people (155 hypertensive and 155 normotensive
patients), in addition to biochemical
parameters. A multivariate
logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with AH.
Analysis of continuous variables was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test to assess significance between groups and Dunn’s post-test for multiple comparisons. Results The results showed that AH was associated with age,
education,
smoking,
obesity and high levels of
triglycerides,
sodium,
glucose and
uric acid. Regarding the biochemical
parameters, in hypertensive
patients, the rs4363 and rs4335 polymorphisms were associated with high levels of
triglycerides,
urea and
glucose; the rs4291 polymorphism was associated with elevated
urea and
glucose levels. No
association was detected between
SNPs and HA. Conclusion AH was associated with
socioeconomic status,
lifestyle habits and biochemical
parameters. ACE polymorphisms may have influenced the levels of
triglycerides,
urea and
glucose in hypertensive
patients.